Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2002-05

Special visitors to three of Ashok Leyland’s Units

19, Rajaji Salai, Chennai 600 001 Ph: (91) 44-25342141 Fax: (91) 44-25342493 www.ashokleyland.com

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

W

e at Ashok Leyland are committed to preserving the environment through a comprehensive Environmental Policy and a proactive approach in planning and executing our manufacturing and service activities.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. - CHIEF SEATTLE, 1855

The objective of Ashok Leyland’s Environmental Policy is: ❖ To adhere to all applicable environmental legislations and regulations. ❖ To adopt pollution preventive techniques in design & manufacture of our products. ❖ To conserve all resources such as power, water, oil, gas, compressed air etc., and optimize their usage, through scientific methods. ❖ To continuously strive to minimize waste generation by all possible ways and to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle the same through a time bound action plan. ❖ To provide a clean working environment to our employees, contractors and neighbours. Towards fulfilling the above objective, we propagate our environmental policy and our commitment to continuous improvement to all employees, suppliers, customers and neighbours. We will strive towards maintaining harmony between society and environment towards achieving our environmental goal.

Foreword By offering economical means of movement for people and goods, the commercial vehicle industry plays an indispensable role in every economic activity and developmental process. The Indian commercial vehicle industry has set for itself a challenging road map of technology upgradation in line with accelerated emission norms, aimed at improving the quality of air. Ashok Leyland has led with innovations in alternate fuels besides offering fuel-efficient engines that are at once economical and environment friendly. Along with product technology, manufacturing processes have the potential to make a difference. As a resources-intensive industry that consumes large quantities of steel, power, water and oil, a reduction in the consumption of these resources would not only help in environmental preservation, but also contribute directly to the balance sheet. Towards this end, Ashok Leyland has been adopting clean and lean manufacturing processes at all manufacturing locations, while also monitoring and guiding suppliers in establishing Environmental Management Systems. This first ever report on sustainability from the Company will be a springboard for scaling up programmes for resource conservation, environmental protection as also such actions with societal impact as are expected of a responsible corporate citizen.

R SESHASAYEE Managing Director

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A

shok Leyland is the flagship company of the Hinduja Group in India. The Hinduja Group is active in over 50 countries, with a wide range of products and services. The Group’s activities are

divided into three core areas namely international trading, investment banking and global investments. Through its global investments, Hinduja Group is a major player in India in automotive manufacturing, financial services, banking, trading, oil, media & communications, IT, chemicals and infrastructure project development. “Work to give” is at the core of the Group’s business philosophy. This is reflected in the Hinduja Foundation’s initiatives in health, education, arts & culture and social welfare as also in the Group companies. A commercial vehicle manufacturer with a tradition of technologi-

technology that is both fuel-efficient

cal leadership for over five decades,

and eco-friendly. Decades ahead of

Ashok Leyland has played a fulfilling

emission regulations, the Company’s

part in the development of India’s

R&D engineers have been working on

road transport sector which today

alternate fuels. The breakthrough

accounts for 65% of goods and 85%

came in 1997 when the Company

of passenger movement. Keeping in

launched the CNG-powered bus,

mind the operating environment for

making India one among a handful of

its products, the Company has

countries to tame this eco-friendly

always sought to give appropriate

fuel to power commercial vehicles.

product configurations that make

In 2002, yet another frontier

economic sense to the customer

technology was conquered when the

even as they offer the equally

Company unveiled India’s first

important benefits of safety, comfort

hybrid electric bus.

and eco-friendliness. Central to the Company’s customer-centric product

Fume killers at the cab weld shop

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offerings has been the engine

Along with purposefully selected product technology, the Company

supports its customers with train-

• Converting the P4 engines

ing, after-sales and genuine parts

(indirect injection engines) to S4

availability so that the customers –

engines (direct injection engines)

and the society – can derive the full

in the forklifts to reduce the

potential of the benefits that

forklift emission

technology offers.

• Converting the air filters from wet type to dry type in the forklift

The “clean air” mantra Ashok Leyland has been investing in projects, to reduce the air emissions and the ecological footprint of its manufacturing

engines to reduce emission levels • Installation of filter bags in shot blasting machine to prevent dust from entering the atmosphere • Changing over from caustic soda

processes. Apart from operating well

to caustic lye to eliminate

under the statutory norms, emission

acid / caustic fumes escaping to

reduction targets are set on a

the atmosphere, while regenera-

Company-wide basis to reduce air

tion of anion, cation and mixed

pollutant emission year on year.

beds in the demineralization and

Some of the initiatives include, • Introduction of fume killers and

reverse osmosis plants • Introduction of settling chamber to

fume extraction systems in the CO2

control the carbon dust emissions

welding areas

from the burner operations

Pressurised air draft & scrubbers combine to make this paint booth ‘eco friendly’

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Water emission reduction Having fully realised the importance of conserving water and preventing water pollution, Ashok Leyland has set up at all its locations, sewage and effluent treatment plants that provide primary, secondary and tertiary treatment, apart from innovating methods for water conservation. Over 1.7 million litres of water are recycled every day for maintaining the greenery and

Sow “rain water”, harvest life With many of its manufacturing

plantations. The treated water is

units in water-starved areas, water

also used for secondary applications

conservation and ground water recharging have been in practice for over a quarter century. Ashok Leyland’s manufacturing unit at Ennore had installed rain water harvesting systems more than a decade ago. Harvesting methods like terrace water collection, percolation wells, and ground water recharging are tried and tested practices here. Besides fully meeting

like toilet flushing, floor washing and cooling tower uptake. All five manufacturing units are zero-discharge-outside-premises, which means that no wastewater is pumped outside the factory. The water from the various treatment plants is periodically monitored to check for conformance much within statutory regulations. its daily requirement of thirteen lakh litres of water, the unit also supplies 30,000 litres of treated drinking water to its associate Company, Ennore Foundries. Ashok Leyland’s Hosur II unit won the CII National Award for Water Management for the year 2004- 2005 for having reduced its

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Rain water harvesting is taken up as a practice not only at all units, but also at other Company premises including the Management Development Centre (in picture)

The tree lives on... A fifteen year old neem tree being transplanted at Ennore to facilitate expansion

specific water consumption by 48% over the last three years. At the Bhandara unit, rainwater harvesting using three ponds and two percolation wells have not only improved the ground water in the zone, but also serve as a water hole for the many wild animals that have taken shelter in the large plantation. Recently, a 4500 kl capacity percolation pond was constructed at the Alwar unit, to store and utilize rainwater.

Driving tree plantation forward Ashok Leyland has been involved in tree plantation drives, both within its own premises and outside. Most special occasions are celebrated with the planting of tree saplings. Apart from trees, herbal plants and flower gardens are also maintained. Tree plantation drives are also carried out in areas near the factories in collaboration with the local communities. Saplings are also donated to neighbouring schools and villages. Employees of the Company too are provided with

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saplings and are encouraged to plant them near their houses or areas of living. More than 6,500 trees were planted in the Hosur I unit in the last four years. The Hosur II unit, which already has 19,000 trees, planted 5000 more of them in the last year alone. The Bhandara unit boasts of a lush green cover and has more than 1,84,000 trees inside its premises, which is also home to many animals living amidst the forest cover. Close to a 1,000 trees were planted in the Alwar unit last year making it one of the greenest factories in that region.

Responsible hazardous waste management Consistent with its Environmen-

units, long before such issues entered public debate. For instance, lead shot blasting used for surface cleaning treatment of rough materials and heat treatment scaling at Ennore was replaced with sandblasting, to eliminate the hazard of lead shots way back in the 1960s and sand replaced with steel shots in 1965, to eliminate the possibility of

tal Policy and Social Commitment,

silicosis. The blasting dust gener-

Ashok Leyland has been striving

ated today is collected by heavy-

continuously to reduce the hazard-

duty dust collectors and goes into

ous wastes generation from its

the making of firecrackers. Sodium Cyanide was used in salt bath furnaces for carburising and hardening of components. This involved an elaborate process of handling and disposal of residual cyanide salts. In 1980, this was replaced by carbonitriding process and the four sealed quench furnaces that do carbonitriding now operate without any Sodium Cyanide. At all Ashok Leyland units, modern scrubbers do duty to trap residual paint particles and cull them out to prevent their entry into the atmosphere. Trichloroethylene and Carbon Tetrachloride - two compounds used for de-greasing at Ennore - were eliminated once they were categorised as ‘ozone depleting sub-

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stances’. At the same location, introduction of direct induction hardening has eliminated the copper plating of camshafts before the carburising operation. Waste oil and used oil, which are classified as hazardous by law, are not only managed scientifically, but their generation reduced through phased targets. The used oil goes into re-processing through authorised channels.

Resource consumption ‘Reduce’ says the first ‘R’ of the

Green supply chain management For Ashok Leyland, its environmental responsibility extends beyond the walls of its plants. It is

‘3R’s denoting “Reduce, Reuse,

realized that suppliers add value to

Recycle”. In tune with this philoso-

the Company’s products and so their

phy, reducing resource consumption

environmental performance is also

has been one of the core objectives

its responsibility. Hence, Ashok

of Ashok Leyland’s operations.

Leyland has made a conscious

Numerous projects have been

decision to extend assistance to

undertaken towards reducing the

suppliers to set up Environmental

consumption of power, oil, water,

Management Systems. Greening the

metal and other raw materials.

Supply Chain Management (GSCM) “consists of the involvement of purchasing and supplying in activities that include reduction, recycling, reuse and the substitution of materials.” GSCM activities include examination of how intra and inter organizational factors both drive and constrain the involvement of supplier and purchaser in greening the supply chain activities. This is also necessary to consistently meet specified environmental performance criterion among the participants of the supply chain and to influence more consistent corporate environmental behaviour among all players in the chain of products and services. Ashok Leyland’s efforts at GSCM, kick started with seven of the

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The Green Supply Chain Management model willing level A suppliers, who were

level reduction, improved shop air

helped with the process of imple-

quality and resource conservation.

menting efficient environmental management systems. It is note worthy that most of these suppliers decided to obtain the ISO 14001 certification for their units. The beneficiaries that included

The Green Shield award

Mr Ashok Chopra, Manufacturing Manager-Alwar, (left) receiving the first inter-unit Green Shield award from Mr R Seshasayee, MD-Ashok Leyland

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Inter unit environmental benchmarking After implementation of ISO 14001 throughout the Company, a need was felt for horizontal deploy-

AL-Pump Ltd, Madras Radiators and

ment of learnings at different units.

Pressings Ltd reported gains such as

Further it was also realized that a

reduction in water wastages, noise

competitive atmosphere would

accelerate the gains from an environmental management system and in the year 2002-2003, a performance based award called the Green Shield award was introduced. The purpose of this award is to promote inter unit environmental benchmarking and to assess the units based on their environmental performance. Where as ISO 14001 is a generic system standard that provides a framework for improvement, it is not a standard that stipulates particular

involve • Competitions on safety posters, quizzes, slogans and essays • Conducting safety exhibitions on

degrees of improvement. While ISO

the shop floor where such posters,

14001 is an excellent tool for

slogans and awareness messages

achieving improvement; it is not the

are displayed

ideal tool for assessing performance.

• Running fire & safety training

Hence to accelerate improvements

programmes at regular intervals

and assess performance, the Green

• Conducting mock drills to sensitize

Shield award became necessary. The award helps in keeping track

and train personnel on emergency preparedness

of the improvements, as also monetary gains that have been achieved. Given the diversity among

Safety awards and recognitions

the units in terms of processes, products, scales of operation and pollution load, the criteria for the award reckons the rate of annual improvement and not the absolute

Some of the awards Ashok Leyland has won for its initiatives in providing a safe work environment: • CII Leadership and Excellence

quantum of improvement. This

Award in Safety, Health and

ensures all units an equal chance to

Environment 2003 & 2004

win.

• State Safety Awards by the Factory Inspectorate

Staying safe, working safe Accidents in industries can cause damage to life and property which

• The Tamil Nadu Govt., Safety Awards 2002 – 03, for the highest reduction in accident rates and for the longest accident free period.

should be prevented at all costs. To reduce accidents and to sensitize employees towards safe work practices, safety drives are conducted regularly in the plants. These safety drives include the conducting of safety week programmes and

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His Holiness The Dalai Lama, presenting the Golden Peacock Award to Ashok Leyland. Received by Mr J N Amrolia, ED-HR and Mr A K Chatterjee GM-Bhandara

Environmental awards and recognition Ashok Leyland’s manufacturing unit at Bhandara, Maharashtra, won the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award, instituted by the World Environment Foundation during the year 2002, under the ‘Large Manufacturing’ category.

environmental performance: • The CII National Award for excellence in energy management 2003 • The CII National Award for excellence in water management 2004 • The Best Environmental Upkeep Award by Hosur Industries Association

At the inaugural session of the 4th World Congress on Environment Management held at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, His Holiness The Dalai Lama presented the award to Ashok Leyland. Some of the other awards the Company has won for its

Hosur II team receiving the CII Leadership Award in Safety, Health and Environment 2004, from Mr. T. N. Seshan, former Chief Election Commissioner

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Spreading awareness, saving lives The trucking community,

for allotment of vehicles, condom

NDTC has integrated itself well

constantly in transit and away

and literature dispensers are kept.

with the community, the various

from homes for days, has been

Fifty-six of Ashok Leyland’s employ-

fleet owners associations and local

identified as one of the most

ees from two plants have undergone

NGOs, which has enhanced its

vulnerable to AIDS. For their

trainers’ training and take turns to

ability to create mass awareness

benefit, awareness and preven-

counsel the truck drivers. At one-to-

about AIDS. NDTC ‘s contribution

tion programmes were started in

one sessions, when incidence of

is well appreciated by APAC (AIDS

two centers in the Company: at

medical conditions are suspected,

Prevention and Control Project)

the two Hosur factories (among

such drivers are directed to the

and AIDS Control society.

convoy drivers) and at Namakkal

medical centre for physical examina-

Over 1,20,000 drivers, who

Driver Training Centre (among

tion. The Company doctor prescribes

have been trained under various

driver trainees).

the necessary treatments, which are

courses, have been covered under

funded by the transport contractors.

AIDS awareness sessions so far.

From the very beginning, the

Sessions on AIDS are part of the

The convoy drivers employed by Ashok Leyland’s transport contractors to drive the vehicles

curriculum at Ashok Leyland’s

structured training programme and

from the two plants at Hosur to

Namakkal Driver Training Centre

are supplemented by

sales yards all over India are

(NDTC) had included besides func-

videocassettes, leaflets and

targeted in this programme. At a

tional subjects, health education

booklets received from the AIDS

central location, which they visit

including yoga and AIDS awareness.

Control Society.

Employees of the Company, involved in AIDS awareness among the driver community

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FunBus being launched on Children’s Day

The FunBus; big happiness for the little ones

One of the first special passengers on the FunBus

Through Ashok Leyland’s interaction with groups who work with underprivileged children, it was realized that the differentlyabled and underprivileged children do not get many opportunities to explore the world outside, primarily due to the lack of appropriate transport facilities. The seed of this realization bore fruit in the form of Ashok Leyland’s “Children’s Day gift” to the children of Chennai the FunBus. The FunBus is run by Ashok Leyland, exclusively for free use round the year by the children

of orphanages, corporation primary schools, and other underprivileged groups. The usage of this bus has been allocated to organizations that work with such children and the organizations in turn, use the FunBus to transport the children from such schools and institutions, for one-day outings. The bus has been built keeping in mind the comfort and safety of the physically challenged and comes equipped with a hydraulic lift for the convenience of wheel chair bound children. The colourfully painted bus, is meant to give them a day of joy, high on memorability.

Children on a joy-filled trip on the FunBus.

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Training drivers for ‘on and off’ the road The town of Namakkal is today

hair-pin bend, humps and dips with

the busy hub of trucking activity,

different gradients, speed breakers,

surrounded by a number of trucking

bye-pass road, ‘Y’ junction, different

centres. Namakkal’s identification

types of parking bays, basic and

with trucking is so total that every

variable yards... The roads come

family is connected with the trade -

complete with electronic signals,

often in more ways than one. The

signboards, road markings and

Namakkal Driver Training Centre is

streetlights for night driving.

spread over 25 acres and includes

Yoga programme at the Namakkal Driver Training Centre

The curriculum at the centre

facilities like classrooms, library,

goes much beyond the basic

& maintenance, first aid, fire

model room, laboratory, cafeteria

knowledge and skills for obtaining a

fighting and the need for - and ways

and an open-air theatre. It also

driving licence. With an objective to

of - keeping body and mind in good

boasts of a driving range with all

ready a driver for life on and off the

health. Besides driver training and

conceivable configuration of roads.

road, training is imparted on a

mechanic training, the centre also

The driving range consists of

multitude of subjects including

conducts certificate courses in

single-lane, two-lane, four-lane and

techniques for defensive driving,

specialised subjects such as

six-lane roads, ‘S’ bend, ‘8’ bend and

fuel conservation, basics of repairs

responsible and safe handling of hazardous materials.

Comprehensive infrastructure to deliver scientific driver training

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Mr J N Amrolia, ED-HR, Ashok Leyland, presenting the ‘Eco-First’ Award to Mr C S Lakshmi Narayanan SM-Utilities & Services, Hyundai Motor India Ltd.

Promoting industry, NGO partnerships Environment

Hyundai Motor Corporation was adjudged the winner and received the ECO FIRST award.

Road safety drives Ashok Leyland partnered the Kanchi Health and Education Society,

Ashok Leyland has been involved

an NGO working in the Kanchipuram

in various activities to promote road

district on village self-sufficiency, to

safety by sensitizing drivers and

recognize eco-consciousness among

public on the need for safe road use

industries. It instituted the “ECO

practices.

FIRST” award for responsible environ-

In partnership with various

ment management among industries

organizations like Suraksha, aware-

in the Kanchipuram district. Besides

ness on road safety is spread

sponsorship support, the Company

amongst the public, which includes

lent its expertise and human resources to formulate and implement the evaluation process. The design of the award, with a leaf on the chimney, has been conceptualised to highlight the much-needed synergy between the industry and the environment. The winner was arrived at based on an exhaustive assessment of the various facets of environment management, which included positive process changes, training, material reuse & recycling and product life cycle responsibility. Four finalists were selected and audited by a team of experts from the Industry and NGO’s.

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Safey, the mascot for safety, used for communication with children

School children participating in a joint safety awareness programme

Two wheeler safety rally by Ashok Leyland employees more than 25,000 students of various schools and colleges. Road safety guidelines for cyclists, two/ four wheeler users and pedestrians are prepared in vernacular languages and distributed. Ashok Leyland also participates in many of the road safety weeks carried out by the local RTO’s and district administrations across the country.

Assistance to schools Ashok Leyland started the

students. The Company has financially supported the construction of

Dharam Hinduja Matriculation

sixty-eight school buildings and in

School in Thiruvotriyur, Chennai, to

some cases has donated note/text

cater to the children of its employ-

books and computers. Initiatives like

ees. Here emphasis is placed on the

health camps, tree plantation

all round development of the

drives, environmental and safety

Children of the Dharam Hinduja Matriculation school, Chennai performing a skit on environment in the neighbourhood

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awareness camps have also been

also working through the

conducted in many schools present

Confederation of Indian Industry

near the various plants of the

(CII) for long-term solutions like

Company. Many of the Company’s

fishing equipment and community

employees, in their own personal

centers to the fishermen

ways, are involved in supporting

communities in the Nagapattinam

schools, orphanages and poor

and Cuddalore districts.

children through education.

On the day the tragedy struck, the Company threw open its gates

A good neighbour

to the residents of the badly affected fishermen hamlets near the

While expanding its

Ennore Unit, which is near the

manufacturing network, the

Northern coastline of Chennai, one

Company has spearheaded the

of the badly affected areas. Over a

industrialization of many

100 employees, along with buses

economically backward regions. It

and ambulances, were involved in

was therefore natural for the

relief operations including medical

neighbourhoods to look up to the

attention and feeding of the

manufacturing units for assistance

displaced.

from time to time. The Company

Around 30,000 food packets

has always responded to the needs

have been distributed for those

of the neighbourhoods —

affected. A permanent drinking

infrastructural development, medical

water arrangement has been

outreach programmes, blood

provided just outside the Ennore

donation camps, provision of

factory premises for use by nearby

ambulances and in various ways to

residents.

suit the needs. The Company conducts regular perception surveys among the

Employee volunteerism What is gratifying about the

neighbouring communities. Not

Company’s various CSR initiatives is

resting on the overwhelmingly

the role of employee volunteerism in

positive scores, the Company works

all of them. Interestingly, but not

on the suggestions from the

surprisingly, their experience has

communities, to be a responsible

encouraged many of them to take on

neighbour to them.

individually and collectively, a variety of initiatives that make

Lending a helping hand

sense to their immediate living environment. An Ashok Leyland

The employees and managements

age at his home. Many employees

companies have supported the

raise funds to see underprivileged

tsunami relief work with cash, kind

children through school. Many more

and physical labour. The Company is

give their time for causes dear to

also committed towards long-term

their hearts, acts that make a

support for the relief operations and

difference to people’s lives.

was also involved in supporting many NGOs carrying out relief. It is 16

employee runs a 40-strong orphan-

of Ashok Leyland and its associate

After all, needs vary. And hence, responses, too.